@gene: "<quote>
Q: How does an established place like Coco500, which opened as Bizou
in 1993 and became Coco500 in 2005, adjust amidst this flood of new
restaurants?
A: We�ve been frustrated at Coco500 many times lately with feeling
like there�s this disconnect between the customer and the restaurant.
The things that used to matter � intimacy, privacy � are just gone.
There aren�t a lot of people who care about that, unless they tend to
be older people. We�re walking this line of an established customer
base � in restaurants that have some years on them � because you�ve
got those people who are really important, and they�re important for a
bunch of reasons. They�re the ones that have been supporting you.
They�re the ones that you have a relationship with, that you connect
with. And now they�re being squeezed out to some extent by a new
population, by people who have different expectations.
Q: In a dining experience?
A: Yes. It�s kind of hard to know what those expectations are. And
crazy things happen. We�ll have cavatelli on the menu and can hear
that diners are having a conversation wondering about cavatelli. And
instead of engaging the staff, they�ll just start looking it up and a
whole 10 minutes can be dedicated to Wikipedia and the notion of
cavatelli. But we�re here to tell you about it!
There is a relentless distraction factor that didn�t use to be there.
For me, the whole notion of being at a restaurant has always been
about these bold, original notions about restaurants being a
restorative break from your day, a place to relax and be nurtured to
some extent. That is just being challenged.
<url>"
    @sf: "On Fri, 02 May 2014 06:58:29 -0700, evergene
<quote>
Yes, different generations - different expectations.  Don't forget
about the needs of oldsters, restaurateurs.  I have friends who don't
enjoy eating out anymore because their hearing is going in one or both
ears and noisy restaurants make conversation impossible for them.
Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories."
    @eisner: "<quote>
Not having heard of cavatelli (so sue me), I looked it up in wikipedia:
   "Cavatelli are a type of pasta. The term cavatelli has two meanings:
   the most common meaning is small pasta shells that look like miniature
   hot dog buns.  The name is less frequently used for a type of
   dumpling made with ricotta."
Hey, I bet you wouldn't get that sort of information ("hot dog buns")
from a server!  Or the fact (next paragraph) that they are also
called "priest's ears".  (I wonder if they take confession.)
                                                         Al Eisner
                                                 San Mateo Co., CA
"So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it
enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind
to do."                    >>>    Benjamin Franklin (Autobiography)"
    @hummbaby: "<quote>
One would think that any metro area  the like Bay Area  with so many 
restaurants, that there would be a large enough market to cater to ALL TYPES 
of patrons.  Ones that prefer a noisy "high energy" environment and the ones 
that prefer a quieter, more relaxing dining environment.  It doesn't need to 
be an either or proposition.
Of course those who want to open up a "trendy" place will go after whatever 
"trend" is hot and current.  But one would think there are other 
restauranteurs who would want to cater and serve customers who just want to 
enjoy great food in a more traditional (and quieter) restaurant setting.
- Peter"
    @sf: "On Fri, 2 May 2014 19:58:03 +0000 (UTC), Eli the Bearded
<quote>
We haven't been there in years, maybe decades by now.  It changed too
much after it was sold.
Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories."
    @sf: "On Fri, 02 May 2014 13:35:14 -0700, Peter Lawrence <email_address>
wrote:
<quote>
It seems to me that the old 5th Floor (new name: Dirty Habit) is going
to try bridging the two concepts and their idea might even work.
<url>
Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories."
    @sf: "On Fri, 2 May 2014 19:51:43 +0000 (UTC), <email_address> (Todd
<quote>
I didn't interpret it that way.  The way I read it boiled down to a
lack of  interaction between staff and customers, meaning that instead
of younger customers asking the staff about the wine, a particular
ingredient, a new dish - they are using their phones to look up
information online.  Might as well get your food at a cafeteria if
you're not going to interact with the wait staff when you have a
question.
Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories."
    @hummbaby: "<quote>
Yes, it is.  And I wonder why don't more restaurants structure their space 
(if they have the space) like how the Carlyle Grand does.
- Peter"
    @sf: "On Sat, 3 May 2014 00:46:52 +0000 (UTC), <email_address> (Todd
<quote>
If they have an attitude like that, they're in the wrong business.
Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories."
    @gene: "<quote>
Keller's example of a diner at a restaurant getting info from a smart
phone instead of a waiter points to a number of things, such as people
who are more comfortable interacting with a machine than with another
person, and people who trust Wikepedia to be accurate.
Keller is completely accurate when she says "There is a relentless
distraction factor that didn�t use to be there." That's about the
clearest definition of "multitasking" I've ever read.
But these are people who grew up in an era when good customer service
means an automated voice menu system that requires you to answer only
five questions before connecting you with an incompetent call center
in Bangalore."
    @eisner: "<quote>
It's not only a good quote, but it's actually on-topic.  Franklin
observed this of himself, after he made the decision to cease being
a vegetarian.
Hmmm  pluralism?  Novel idea!
                                                         Al Eisner
                                                 San Mateo Co., CA"
    @eisner: "<quote>
Yes, you tell that wabbit!
A perfect ba.food exchange.  :)
                                                         Al Eisner
                                                 San Mateo Co., CA"
    @gene: "<quote>
Reminds me of a restaurant critic's comment I read a long time ago
(might have been Jay Jacobs), so long ago that it was a new thing for
waiters to tell you their name. I assume Jacobs made up the story, but
maybe it really happened.
Waiter to Jacobs: "Hi! I'm Josh, and I'll be taking care of you
tonight!"
Jacobs to Josh: "Hello. I'm your customer, and if you don't start
behaving like a waiter, you won't get a tip.""
    @tcmay: "<quote>
We in English also have the usage "corkscrew pasta."
Here's but one common example:
<url> 
Tim May"
    @tcmay: "<quote>
(I know this thread is more than a week old, but I went back to see 
what started the debate....)
If I look at a name change from "Bizou" to "Coco500" I think 
immediately "Oh, they adopted a hipster name to appeal to the hipsters."
Bizou is an older name, "Coco500" is some white person version of a 
hip-hop name.
As an old person, I like quiet restaurants and ones I can ask the 
waiters questions of.
But when I was a young person, say, 35 years ago, I liked the same.
Granted, we didn't have the Wikipedia on cellphones.
(35 years ago to me would mean quiet restaurants with names like 
"Sebastian's" (the top of the Pruneyard Tower in Campbell), "Michael's" 
(El Camino Real in Santa Clara), and "Victoria Station (in what is now 
Cuperchina). We could talk and hear each other. Loud music was saved 
for places like nightclubs like "The Garrett.")
Perhaps "Coco500" should change back to "Bizou," install some sound 
insulation, maybe install booths, and discourage the hipster crowd from 
riding up in their fixies.
Tim
Tim May"
    @sf: "<quote>
It must really suck to be such a bigoted racist, forced to interact
with people you consider your inferiors every single day of your life,
knowing that America isn't getting any whiter and you will be the
minority in no time flat.
I don't remember the Victoria Station in San Francisco being anywhere
near what I would call quiet.  It was busy, crowded and most certainly
noisy.  What it didn't have was sound bouncing off naked walls in a
cavernous room the way restaurants are set up today, but that was only
because train cars weren't big enough for that type of noise.
Good Food.
Good Friends.
Good Memories."
    @pete_fraser: "<quote>
Do you remember "La Cigale" on El Camino (S'vale or Mtn View)?
One of my favorite South Bayish restaurants from that era."
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